Polish National Church and Communion
Date: February 4, 2023
Author: Fr. Edward McNamara, LC
Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and sacramental theology and director of the Sacerdos Institute at the Pontifical Regina Apostolorum university.
Question: In the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, is someone baptized and who's made their first Communion in the Polish National Catholic Church permitted to receive Communion at a Roman Catholic church? – S.S.
Answer: The Code of Canon Law says the following:
“Can. 844 §1. Catholic ministers administer the sacraments licitly to Catholic members of the Christian faithful alone, who likewise receive them licitly from Catholic ministers alone, without prejudice to the prescripts of §§2, 3, and 4 of this canon, and can. 861 §2.
Ҥ2. Whenever necessity requires it or true spiritual advantage suggests it, and provided that danger of error or of indifferentism is avoided, the Christian faithful for whom it is physically or morally impossible to approach a Catholic minister are permitted to receive the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick from non-Catholic ministers in whose Churches these sacraments are valid.
Ҥ3. Catholic ministers administer the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick licitly to members of Eastern Churches which do not have full communion with the Catholic Church if they seek such on their own accord and are properly disposed. This is also valid for members of other Churches which in the judgment of the Apostolic See are in the same condition in regard to the sacraments as these Eastern Churches.
Ҥ4. If the danger of death is present or if, in the judgment of the diocesan bishop or conference of bishops, some other grave necessity urges it, Catholic ministers administer these same sacraments licitly also to other Christians not having full communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and who seek such on their own accord, provided that they manifest Catholic faith in respect to these sacraments and are properly disposed.
“§5. For the cases mentioned in §§2, 3, and 4, the diocesan bishop or conference of bishops is not to issue general norms except after consultation at least with the local competent authority of the interested non-Catholic Church or community.”
The 2004 instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum also clarified these canons:
“[85.] Catholic ministers licitly administer the Sacraments only to the Catholic faithful, who likewise receive them licitly only from Catholic ministers, except for those situations for which provision is made in can. 844 §§2,3, and 4, and can. 861 §2. In addition, the conditions comprising can. 844 §4, from which no dispensation can be given, cannot be separated; thus, it is necessary that all of these conditions be present together.”
The most significant part of the above canon for our question is from paragraph §3: “This is also valid for members of other Churches which in the judgment of the Apostolic See are in the same condition in regard to the sacraments as these Eastern Churches.”
This means that the Holy See must in some way approve or determine whether a specific group can be considered as being in the same condition with respect to the sacraments as the Eastern Churches not in communion with the Holy Father.
The Polish National Catholic Church, a relatively small group of some 36,000 souls which splintered from the Catholic Church, mostly due to pastoral misunderstandings, in 1897.
With respect to this denomination, on March 13, 1996, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops committee on Ecumenical affairs, with the prior approval of the Holy See, recognized that the PNCC is in the same conditions as the members of the Eastern Churches in regard to the sacraments.
Therefore, Canon 844 §3 applies to the members of this Church under the same conditions as members of Eastern Churches.
That means a member of the PNCC can receive Communion from a Catholic minister if these conditions are present and the person has the usual dispositions of grace to receive Communion.
Just as the Catholic Church would not require entering into full communion for an Eastern Orthodox Christian who desired to receive these sacraments under the above conditions, I would say that the same rule would apply to someone who was a member of the Polish National Church.
However, there may be concrete pastoral situations in which a pastor could invite a member of the PNCC to freely enter full communion with the Catholic Church. For example, if a person baptized into the PNCC has a Catholic spouse and habitually came to Mass with his or her family.
Entering into full communion would also allow for eventual participation in some other ministries such as lector, acolyte or extraordinary minister of Holy Communion.
All the same, even if the person prefers not to enter into full communion, he or she could still receive the Eucharist in the Catholic Church if the above conditions are met.
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